>Carrol used the phrase, "rule of thumb, " I'd heard a few years
>ago about the
>origins of that phrase in the Middle Ages referring to the
>"proper" dimensions of a rod or stick to use to beat one's wife.
>A search on google just now brought up some hits. Unfortunately,
>the first one was from some anti-feminist website that used the
>disingenuous work of Christina
>Hoff Sommers. Other hits, more credible, on H-Net. So, just what
>is the truth regarding this?
>Michael Pugliese